Wife appeals for witnesses after husband left unable to work after horror hit-and-run car crash

Andy Elam, 30, was parking his car on Sheffield Road, across from Stand Road, at around 9.40pm last Sunday, when a blue Skoda vehicle came out of the junction and smashed into him.

It ploughed into the back of Andy’s car, spinning it into a nearby bed shop and nearly hitting two girls that were standing on the pavement.

The driver immediately drove away from the scene of the smash, leaving Andy bleeding in his car.

His wife, Alex Elam, 29, said she was left in shock when her husband phoned to tell her that he’s been injured in a car crash.

Alex said: “I was preparing everything for my son’s second birthday the following morning when I got the phone call. I was shocked when my husband said what happened.

“I had to get one of the neighbours to sit with the children and take him to a hospital as there was a five hour wait for an ambulance.”

At the hospital the doctors checked Andy for internal bleeding because of the serious bruising on his stomach.

He was released home with whiplash and bruises, but Alex was given guidance on signs of internal bleeding to make sure Andy’s condition did not deteriorate.

Alex said: “He is very bruised and sore, and he can't move his right shoulder very well. And he is obviously very distressed.

“He was just about to get out of the car when it happened. And if he had been out of the car a bit earlier it could have been a completely different story.”

Following the hit-and-run, police were called to the scene to investigate. People who live nearby heard the car crash, but so farno witnesses have been able to identify the driver.

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Now the Elams have been forced to buy a new car and a pushchair, which was damaged during the incident, while neither of them can work at the moment as Alex has recently broken her wrist.

She said: “My husband requires a car to get to work and we’re paying the price of someone else’s stupidity the night before our youngest son’s second birthday when we should have been excited.”

Alex said that she hopes the responsible person, who drove off following the incident, will be found and punished accordingly.

She said:“I hope that with the help of witnesses the police can catch and prosecute the responsible person.

“Something needs to be done about these big racers driving like lunatics causing detestation to families. There was a speeding incident on the same junction a couple of weeks ago.”

A spokesperson for the Derbyshire police said: “Officers were called to reports of a collision in Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, at 9.40pm on 14 August.

“One man was hurt in the incident and enquiries are ongoing into the identity of the driver of the vehicle which left the scene before police attendance.

“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Derbyshire police, including reference 22000472156.”